The best way to make friends in college is by having an active social life. My first few weeks in college were spent studying and doing homework, of course, but most of my spare time was spent making friends and socializing. It's important to make friends early on in college, because after a while, everyone finds their "group" and doesn't make an effort to find anyone else to talk to. The way that my roommate and I made friends was by having everyone on our floor hang out in our dorm room each night, and morning, and basically all of the time. If this is the life that you seek to live in college, here are a few tips to attract people to your dorm room.

1. Keep the door open.

Everyone has probably heard this one. It’s common sense, right? Well it’s really easy to get back from a full day of classes and shut your dorm door. But if you do this every day, eventually, everyone will have found a bunch of friends and their own hang-out spots.

2. Have a lot of seating areas.

My dorm had 2 futons that could seat 3 people each, a ottoman, a beanbag chair, 2 desk chairs, and a bed lowered to couch-level. My roommate and I could basically fit our whole floor in our dorm room! This made it really convenient for people to come in and hang out.

3. Have snacks available to everyone.

We had a bowl full of fruit snacks in our dorm room—probably 100 bags of them—as well as cereal and chips and anyone that came into our room had free reign of it. The boys especially loved this, but everyone enjoyed snacking and hanging out in our dorm.

4. Get a good sound system for the room.

When people want to unwind late at night after doing hours of homework, the best way to entertain them is to put on music. By having a great speaker system with an aux cord, anyone can plug in their phone/ipod/laptop and play some cool tunes.

5. Make sure there is a lot of floor space.

Whether you are playing a game, studying with a group on the floor, doing yoga, or just chilling and hanging out, having a lot of floor space makes a dorm room more inviting. This is because the dorm room looks bigger, and people think that it feels more comfortable this way.

6. Invite people over.

This is probably another obvious way to get people to hang out in your room, but many people expect their neighbors just to stop in and hang out. However, they don’t know you, and will not just walk into your room (unless they are the RA and are forced to).

7. Put a whiteboard on your door.

For some reason, college students love writing on whiteboards. First, they make communication easy. Second, they’re fun to draw on. And third, they initiate conversation.

8. Keep the room clean and fresh-smelling.

Face the facts: It’s college, people hate doing laundry, cleaning takes time, and every dorm is going to smell. So, why not make your dorm the one that smells great? This will naturally draw people, because it will make them feel comfortable, and as if they are at home.

9. Have a pet.

Okay, some colleges don’t let you have any animals in the dorms. University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, for example, only allows fish tanks in the dorms. However, Knox allowed virtually any pets in the dorms, and my roommate and I had two fuzzy little hamsters that were a big hit with the people on our floor. It’s amazing how much happier people are when they get the opportunity to relax by playing with furry creatures

10. Have air-conditioning.

It’s amazing how much nicer it is in a dorm room when it is air-conditioned. Most doctors will write a doctor’s note for air conditioning if you have a dust-allergy or summer allergies. Just tell the doctor that you can’t have your windows open because the pollen inhibits you from sleeping properly. Some colleges offer air conditioning to any student that requests it, but you have to pay to rent an air-conditioner. Believe me, it’s worth it!